• Molecules and Cells
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• 제38권4호
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• pp.304-311
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• 2015

Most follicles in the mammalian ovary undergo atresia. Granulosa cell apoptosis is a hallmark of follicle atresia. Our previous study using a microRNA (miRNA) microarray showed that the let-7 microRNA family was differentially expressed during follicular atresia. However, whether the let-7 miRNA family members are related to porcine (Sus scrofa) ovary follicular apoptosis is unclear. In the current study, real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction showed that the expression levels of let-7 family members in follicles and granulosa cells were similar to our microarray data, in which miRNAs let-7a, let-7b, let-7c, and let-7i were significantly decreased in early atretic and progressively atretic porcine ovary follicles compared with healthy follicles, while let-7g was highly expressed during follicle atresia. Furthermore, flow cytometric analysis and Hoechst33342 staining demonstrated that let-7g increased the apoptotic rate of cultured granulosa cells. In addition, let-7 target genes were predicted and annotated by TargetScan, PicTar, gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathways. Our data provide new insight into the association between the let-7 miRNA family in granulosa cell programmed death.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제41권2호
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• pp.110-118
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• 2018

The objective of this study was to induce the production of isthmic organizer (IsO)-like cells capable of secreting fibroblast growth factor (FGF) 8 and WNT1 from human embryonic stem cells (ESCs). The precise modulation of canonical Wnt signaling was achieved in the presence of the small molecule CHIR99021 ($0.6{\mu}M$) during the neural induction of human ESCs, resulting in the differentiation of these cells into IsO-like cells having a midbrain-hindbrain border (MHB) fate in a manner that recapitulated their developmental course in vivo. Resultant cells showed upregulated expression levels of FGF8 and WNT1. The addition of exogenous FGF8 further increased WNT1 expression by 2.6 fold. Gene ontology following microarray analysis confirmed that IsO-like cells enriched the expression of MHB-related genes by 40 fold compared to control cells. Lysates and conditioned media of IsO-like cells contained functional FGF8 and WNT1 proteins that could induce MHB-related genes in differentiating ESCs. The method for generating functional IsO-like cells described in this study could be used to study human central nervous system development and congenital malformations of the midbrain and hindbrain.

• Genes and Genomics
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• 제40권11호
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• pp.1157-1167
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• 2018

Sulfolobus species can grow on a variety of organic compounds as carbon and energy sources. These species degrade glucose to pyruvate by the modified branched Entner-Doudoroff pathway. We attempted to determine the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under sugar-limited and sugar-rich conditions. RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) was used to quantify the expression of the genes and identify those DEGs between the S. acidocaldarius cells grown under sugar-rich (YT with glucose) and sugar-limited (YT only) conditions. The functions and pathways of the DEGs were examined using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to validate the DEGs. Transcriptome analysis of the DSM 639 strain grown on sugar-limited and sugar-rich media revealed that 853 genes were differentially expressed, among which 481 were upregulated and 372 were downregulated under the glucose-supplemented condition. In particular, 70 genes showed significant changes in expression levels of ${\geq}$ twofold. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the genes encoding components of central carbon metabolism, the respiratory chain, and protein and amino acid biosynthetic machinery were upregulated under the glucose condition. RNA-seq and qRT-PCR analyses indicated that the sulfur assimilation genes (Saci_2197-2204) including phosphoadenosine phosphosulfate reductase and sulfite reductase were significantly upregulated in the presence of glucose. The present study revealed metabolic networks in S. acidocaldarius that are induced in a glucose-dependent manner, improving our understanding of biomass production under sugar-rich conditions.

• Genomics & Informatics
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• 제20권3호
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• pp.27.1-27.13
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• 2022

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is the most prevalent head and neck malignancy, with frequent cervical lymph-node metastasis, leading to a poor prognosis in OSCC patients. The present study aimed to identify potential markers, including microRNAs (miRNAs) and genes, significantly involved in the etiology of early-stage OSCC. Additionally, the main OSCC's dysregulated Gene Ontology annotations and significant signaling pathways were identified. The dataset GSE45238 underwent multivariate statistical analysis in order to distinguish primary OSCC tissues from healthy oral epithelium. Differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) with the criteria of p-value < 0.001 and |Log2 fold change| > 1.585 were identified in the two groups, and subsequently, validated targets of DEMs were identified. A protein interaction map was constructed, hub genes were identified, significant modules within the network were illustrated, and significant pathways and biological processes associated with the clusters were demonstrated. Using the GEPI2 database, the hub genes' predictive function was assessed. Compared to the healthy controls, main OSCC had a total of 23 DEMs. In patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), upregulation of CALM1, CYCS, THBS1, MYC, GATA6, and SPRED3 was strongly associated with a poor prognosis. In HNSCC patients, overexpression of PIK3R3, GIGYF1, and BCL2L11 was substantially correlated with a good prognosis. Besides, "proteoglycans in cancer" was the most significant pathway enriched in the primary OSCC. The present study results revealed more possible mechanisms mediating primary OSCC and may be useful in the prognosis of the patients with early-stage OSCC.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제37권3호
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• pp.461-470
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• 2024

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity, population structure and whole-genome selection signatures of Luxi cattle to reveal its genomic characteristics in terms of meat and carcass traits, skeletal muscle development, body size, and other traits. Methods: To further analyze the genomic characteristics of Luxi cattle, this study sequenced the whole-genome of 16 individuals from the core conservation farm in Shandong region, and collected 174 published genomes of cattle for conjoint analysis. Furthermore, three different statistics (pi, F_st, and XP-EHH) were used to detect potential positive selection signatures related to selection in Luxi cattle. Moreover, gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes pathway enrichment analyses were performed to reveal the potential biological function of candidate genes harbored in selected regions. Results: The results showed that Luxi cattle had high genomic diversity and low inbreeding levels. Using three complementary methods (pi, F_st, and XP-EHH) to detect the signatures of selection in the Luxi cattle genome, there were 2,941, 2,221 and 1,304 potentially selected genes identified, respectively. Furthermore, there were 45 genes annotated in common overlapping genomic regions covered 0.723 Mb, including PLAG1 zinc finger (PLAG1), dedicator of cytokinesis 3 (DOCK3), ephrin A2 (EFNA2), DAZ associated protein 1 (DAZAP1), Ral GTPase activating protein catalytic subunit alpha 1 (RALGAPA1), mediator complex subunit 13 (MED13), and decaprenyl diphosphate synthase subunit 2 (PDSS2), most of which were enriched in pathways related to muscle growth and differentiation and immunity. Conclusion: In this study, we provided a series of genes associated with important economic traits were found in positive selection regions, and a scientific basis for the scientific conservation and genetic improvement of Luxi cattle.

• Molecules and Cells
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• 제38권3호
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• pp.210-220
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• 2015

Athletic performance is an important criteria used for the selection of superior horses. However, little is known about exercise-related epigenetic processes in the horse. DNA methylation is a key mechanism for regulating gene expression in response to environmental changes. We carried out comparative genomic analysis of genome-wide DNA methylation profiles in the blood samples of two different thoroughbred horses before and after exercise by methylated-DNA immunoprecipitation sequencing (MeDIP-Seq). Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in the pre-and post-exercise blood samples of superior and inferior horses were identified. Exercise altered the methylation patterns. After 30 min of exercise, 596 genes were hypomethy-lated and 715 genes were hypermethylated in the superior horse, whereas in the inferior horse, 868 genes were hypomethylated and 794 genes were hypermethylated. These genes were analyzed based on gene ontology (GO) annotations and the exercise-related pathway patterns in the two horses were compared. After exercise, gene regions related to cell division and adhesion were hypermethylated in the superior horse, whereas regions related to cell signaling and transport were hypermethylated in the inferior horse. Analysis of the distribution of methylated CpG islands confirmed the hypomethylation in the gene-body methylation regions after exercise. The methylation patterns of transposable elements also changed after exercise. Long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) showed abundance of DMRs. Collectively, our results serve as a basis to study exercise-based reprogramming of epigenetic traits.

• 한국정보과학회논문지:시스템및이론
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• 제33권3호
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• pp.157-165
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• 2006

세포는 환경 변화 및 자극으로부터 자신을 보호하기 위해 유전자가 발현하여 생명을 유지 시스템을 갖고 있다. 유전자의 발현은 비정상적인 상태의 세포를 환경을 조절, 변화시켜 정상으로 바꾸기 위한 기능, 발달단계에 필요한 기능 등 생명현상에 필요한 특수 역할을 수행한다. 따라서 각 유전자의 기능을 아는 것은 생물학적으로 상당히 의미 있는 일이다. 본 논문에서는 유전자 기능을 알아보기 위해 발현 패턴을 통해 같을 때, 유사한 형태 혹은 시차를 갖고 동일한 형태로 발현하는 유전자들은 같은 기능을 한다는 가정을 하였다. 이 가정에 기반하여 각 유전자들을 기능에 따라 분류하였다. (1) IFSA선형 모델을 적용하여 데이타를 잘 나타내 줄 수 있는 특징 패턴을 찾았으며 (2) 이 특징 패턴으로부터 본 논문에서 제안한 Membership Scoring Function을 이용하여 유전자를 필터링(filtering) 하였다. 이 유전자들은 기존의 ICA(Independent Component Analysis) 방법에서 보다 IFSA 방법이 더 효과적으로 각 기능에 따른 유전자 그룹을 찾아내줌을 GO(Gene Ontology)에서 확인할 수 있었다. 이는 시차 혹은 위상 변화에 상관없이 데이타를 잘 나타낼 수 있는 IFSA의 특성이, ICA보다. 생물학적인 변수를 더 고려해 줄 수 있기 때문이라고 생각된다[1]. 이 논문의 또 다른 주요 작업은 유전자의 상호작용 관계로부터 유전자 네트웍을 얻어내는 것이다. 유전자 네트웍은 같은 그룹 내에서 유전자간의 상관 계수를 구하고 가장 높은 상관도를 보이는 유전자쌍을 연결시켜 얻게되었다. 이 네트웍 역시 GO 해석에서 그 유효성을 확인하였다.를 평균 66.02에서 58.98로 줄이면서 계산시간은 평균 71ms에서 44ms 으로 빠르게 됨을 알 수 있었다.적외선 분광법을 이용한 사일리지의 화학적 조성분 함량 측정은 적은 오차 범위 내에서 신속하고 정확한 분석법이 될 수 있음을 확인 할 수 있었다. 비록 원물 생시료(IF)에 대한 직접적인 측정은 다소 예측 정확성이 떨어지지만 현장 적용성과 편리성을 높이기 위해서는 생시료의 측정시 오차를 줄일 수 있는 스펙트럼의 수처리 방법이나 산란보정 방법과 같은 데이터 처리기법에 대한 더 많은 연구가 앞으로 진행되어야 한다고 생각되어진다.상자의 50% 이상이 매일 생선 콩 및 콩제품과 채소류를 먹고 있었고, 인스턴트나 패스트푸드는 정상 체중군이 저체중군이나 과체중보다 매일 섭취하는 빈도가 낮았다(p<0.0177). 7. 가장 낮은 영양 섭취 상태를 보여준 영양소(% RDA< 75%)는 철분과 칼슘으로 조사 대상자의 3/4에 해당하는 조사 대상자가 영양 부족 상태였다. 칼슘 섭취의 경우 정상 체중군이 과체중군과 저체중군보다 섭취율이 낮았으나(p<0.0257) 철분은 군간 유의차는 없었다. 8. 칼슘의 경우 과체중군이 저체중군이나 정상 체중군에 비해 영양소 적정비율(NAR) 값이 높았으며(p<0.0257) 철분, 단백질, 비타민 $B_1$과 $B_2$, 나이아신의 경우도 통계적으로 유의하지는 않으나 과체중군이 저체중군 또는 정상 체중군의 NAR 값이 높은 경향을 보여주었다. 9가지 영양소의 NAR을 평균한 MAR 값은 군간 유의적이지는 않으나 과체중군(0.76)이 정상체중(0.73) 또는 저체중군(0.73)에 비해 높은 값은 보여주었다. 9.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제30권6호
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• pp.893-901
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• 2017

Objective: Hypocalcemia is an important metabolic disease of dairy cows during the transition period, although the effect of hypocalcemia on biological function in dairy cows remains unknown. Methods: In this study, proteomic, mass spectrum, bioinformatics and western blotting were employed to identify differentially expressed proteins related to serum Ca concentration. Serum samples from dairy cows were collected at three time points: 3rd days before calving (day -3), the day of calving (day 0), and 3rd days after calving (day +3). According to the Ca concentration on day 0, a total of 27 dairy cows were assigned to one of three groups (clinical, subclinical, and healthy). Samples collected on day -3 were used for discovery of differentially expressed proteins, which were separated and identified via proteomic analysis and mass spectrometry. Bioinformatics analysis was performed to determine the function of the identified proteins (gene ontology and pathway analysis). The differentially expressed proteins were verified by western blot analysis. Results: There were 57 differential spots separated and eight different proteins were identified. Vitamin D-binding protein precursor (group-specific component, GC), alpha-2-macroglobulin (A2M) protein, and apolipoprotein A-IV were related to hypocalcemia by bioinformatics analysis. Due to its specific expression (up-regulated in clinical hypocalcemia and down-regulated in subclinical hypocalcemia), A2M was selected for validation. The results were consistent with those of proteomic analysis. Conclusion: A2M was as an early detection index for distinguishing clinical and subclinical hypocalcemia. The possible pathogenesis of clinical hypocalcemia caused by GC and apolipoprotein A-IV was speculated. The down-regulated expression of GC was a probable cause of the decrease in calcium concentration.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제31권10호
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• pp.1550-1557
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• 2018

Objective: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a newfound class of non-coding RNA in animals and plants. Recent studies have revealed that circRNAs play important roles in cell proliferation, differentiation, autophagy and apoptosis during development. However, there are few reports about muscle development-related circRNAs in livestock. Methods: RNA sequencing analysis was employed to identify and annotate circRNAs from longissimus dorsi of sheep. Reverse transcription followed by real-time quantitative (q) polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis verified the presence of these circRNAs. Targetscan7.0 and miRanda were used to analyse the interaction of circRNA-microRNA (miRNA). To investigate the function of circRNAs, an experiment was conducted to perform enrichment analysis hosting genes of circRNAs using gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) pathways. Results: About 75.5 million sequences were obtained from RNA libraries of sheep skeletal muscle. These sequences were mapped to 729 genes in the sheep reference genome. We identified 886 circRNAs, including numerous circular intronic RNAs and exonic circRNAs. Reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) and DNA sequencing analysis confirmed the presence of several circRNAs. Real-Time RT-PCR analysis exhibited resistance of sheep circRNAs to RNase R digestion. We found that many circRNAs interacted with muscle-specific miRNAs involved in growth and development of muscle, especially circ776. The GO and KEGG enrichment analysis showed that hosting genes of circRNAs was involved in muscle cell development and signaling pathway. Conclusion: The study provides comprehensive expression profiles of circRNAs in sheep skeletal muscle. Our study offers a large number of circRNAs to facilitate a better understanding of their roles in muscle growth. Meanwhile, we suggested that circ776 could be analyzed in future study.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제36권3호
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• pp.404-416
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• 2023

Objective: Daweizi (DWZ) is a famous indigenous pig breed in China and characterized by tender meat and high fat percentage. However, the expression profiles and functions of transcripts in DWZ pigs is still in infancy. The object of this study was to depict the transcript profiles in DWZ pigs and screen the potential pathway influence adipogenesis and fat deposition, Methods: Histological analysis of backfat tissue was firstly performed between DWZ and lean-type Yorkshire pigs, and then RNA sequencing technology was utilized to explore miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs profiles in backfat tissue. 18 differentially expressed (DE) transcripts were randomly selected for quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) to validate the reliability of the sequencing results. Finally, gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis were conducted to investigate the potential pathways influence adipocyte differentiation, adipogenesis and lipid metabolism, and a schematic model was further proposed. Results: A total of 1,625 differentially expressed transcripts were identified in DWZ pigs, including 27 upregulated and 45 downregulated miRNAs, 64 upregulated and 119 down-regulated lncRNA, 814 upregulated and 556 downregulated mRNAs. QPCR analysis exhibited strong consistency with the sequencing data. GO and KEGG analysis elucidated that the differentially expressed transcripts were mainly associated with cell growth and death, signal transduction, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), PI3K-Akt, adipocytokine and foxo signaling pathways, all of which are strongly involved in cell development, lipid metabolism and adipogenesis. Further analysis indicated that the BGIR9823_87926/miR-194a-5p/AQP7 network may be effective in the process of adipocyte differentiation or adipogenesis. Conclusion: Our study provides comprehensive insights into the regulatory network of backfat deposition and lipid metabolism in pigs from the point of view of miRNAs, lncRNAs and mRNAs.